In an era of continuous creation, storage, access, and sharing of digital content, we need solutions to keep our data secure and in a ready-to-use manner. This applies to digital cameras too. An overload of images is also a common reason for causing performance lags in a camera. Various memory storage solutions have surfaced in the market but this has also created a clutter of choices.

We help you break through this chaos. We help you understand memory cards for digital cameras and invest in the best, i.e. SanDisk—global leader in the niche of memory card solutions. This is more than just another buying guide. We help you breathe through the subject, understand its fundamentals, and equip you with all the wisdom needed to make a well-informed decision. You, as a buyer, deserve to know what type of memory card is most relevant for your camera and we will show you how to do this!

Making Data Storage Effortless

Memory cards are a perfect acquaintance for storing and exchanging digital data, ranging from photos, MP3 music files, videos, documents, etc. Unlike a roll of negatives to expose images in old-school film cameras, Removable Flash Memory Cards record all images and videos with amazing ease. Practical to the core, memory cards have found widespread application. These are used in various types of compact, portable or remote computing devices.

Memory Card Basics

Please note that memory cards cannot help to improve the quality of images captured by you.These are not performance-raising accessories. They are not a bundled solution to help you click better. Moving on, you need to have a basic understanding of memory card choices found today:

Types of Memory Cards:

Secure Digital (SD) Memory Cards: Highly efficient, these memory cards are the most commonchoice. Easy to use, these cards are compatible with nearly every mainstream digital camera. An SD memory card has a high data-transfer rate. This non-volatile storage option exerts the least load on the battery.

Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) Memory Cards:Unlikethe standard2GB SD cards, these memory cards are of higher capacity—up to 32GB. Similar in shape and size, these cards boast of supporting a wider array of media types.

Secure Digital ‘Xtra Capacity’ (SDXC) Memory Cards: Almost like your standard SD cards but boosted with higher capacity and faster processing speeds, SDXC cards are for folks who like their digital content to be warehoused and shared better and quick. This card features a maximum capacity of 2 Terabytes. Compatible with Mac OSX, Windows 7 and Linux, it is truly a premium choice in this category.

Micro SD Memory cards: A perfect companion to store images in mobile phones. Commercially the smallest, these cards can store up to 2GB of data. The Micro SDHC version can store up to 4GB to 32GB.

Compact Flash (CF) Memory Cards: Deliveringfast processing times and high storage capacities, these memory cards are a prudent pick for advanced DSLR users. These are highly demanded in the professional High Definition (HD) video cameras. You can interpret these as pro-series memory cards.

XD Memory card: Extreme Digital Picture cards are compatible with SD/SDHC technology. These are widely demanded in Fuji and Olympus cameras. They are more camera specific than being technologically superior to other choices listed here.

Leagues ahead of its humble counterparts, SanDisk emerges as a universal favorite as the preferred flash memory card provider. It scores in terms of reliability, even in the most challenging environments. Exponentially growing in the digital storage marketplace, SanDisk memory card solutions are an example of striving for and achieving perfection. The quintessential flash memory technology has helped SanDisk gain a major share of the global data solution marketplace, including data centers and embedded systems like tablets, laptops, and smartphones. From hyper-scale data centers to handheld devices, SanDisk offers endless solutions for ever-expanding digital content storage needs.

Most Popular SanDisk Memory Cards

How to choose memory cards for your digital camera? The Basics First…

Amateur Photographers

If clicking shots is a hobby or you are just a beginner, then focus on capacity while buying a card. Prior to selecting the memory card, quickly glance at the table stating how many images you can save on a specific card. Resolution, file types, and compression are paramount factors that affect the size of each file. Recommended memory card for beginners is in the range of 1GB to 8GB.

Professionals or Semi-Professionals Photographers

For semi-pros and enthusiasts, speed is most crucial aspect, i.e. apart from capacity. They have to be sure about the reliability of a card too since their requirements translate into silos of digital content—often a part of their occupation. Micros SD and SD cards cater to the needs of amateur photographers but when you go pro and want to be good at professional photography, you need features like multiple shots in a single burst, large raw files, and HD video. Here, you need reliability and speed delivered in a compact solution. Choosing camera memory cards with high Mean Time Before Failure is recommended. SanDisk states a MTBF of over 1,000,000 hours for its memory cards!

Understanding Speed in Memory Cards

This depends upon two aspects of the card’s core functions—Read and Write. A card’s Read Speed ensures how fast data can be retrieved. It lets you know how rapidly data will be transferred. A card’s Write Speed briefs you about how fast images can be saved onto a card—a paramount factor especially in a high continuous burst shooting mode. Expressed in ‘Times’ and Megabyte Per Second, speed reflects the card’s per-second ability to read and write.

Understanding Class in Memory Card Options

For low-resolution videos or occasional photographs, lower-class Cards are the best fit but for capturing well-defined details, you need faster cards. Read this that lists different memory card options with their Class-based applications:

Class

Minimum Transfer Speed

Suitable For

Class 2

2 MB/s (Read)

Still photos & SD video recording

Class 4

4 MB/s (Read)

Still photos, HD video recording

Class 6

6 MB/s (Read)

Still photos & Full HD video recording

Class 10

10 MB/s (Read)

HD continuous (burst) still photos, Full HD video recording

UHS Speed Class 1

10 MB/s (Write)

High frame rate Full HD video recording

UHS Speed Class 3

30 MB/s (Write)

Recording 2K & 4K videos

CompactFlash Cards

For CompactFlash cards, speed is evaluated as per the UDMA rating.

Rating

Maximum Transfer Speed

UDMA-5

100 MB/s (Read)

UDMA-6

133 MB/s (Read)

UDMA-7

166 MB/s (Read)

Each rating brings a speed boost, although the effectiveness of this increased speed depends on the ability of your camera too.

Points to Remember:

Have a glance at the camera’s specs to check which memory card it will support.

Check the one that best fit your budget not just run for those that gives you more space.

Create a brief synopsis of your demand to find the finest option for you.

Focus on capacity and speed.

Card Capacities & Memory Cards

When you are on the verge of finalizing a memory card for your camera, ensure that the card has the capacity to support the volume of digital data you plan to save. Increasing capacity means an increasing number of stills, music and videos that you can on a single memory card.

For Images:

Capacity

8 megapixel JPEG photos

20 megapixel JPEG photos

20 megapixel RAW photos

8GB

2,000

800

240

16GB

4,000

1,600

480

32GB

8,000

3,200

960

64GB

16,000

6,400

1,920

128GB

32,000

12,800

3,840

For Audios and Videos:

Capacity

Hours of MP3 music

Minutes of HD video (5 Mbps)

Minutes of HD video (15 Mbps)

Minutes of full HD video (6 Mbps)

Minutes of full HD video (13 Mbps)

8GB

135

180

60

180

80

16GB

270

360

120

360

160

32GB

545

720

240

720

320

64GB

1,090

1,440

480

1,440

640

128GB

2,145

2,880

960

2,880

1,280

Approximate Number of Images per Capacity:

Camera type

File Size

32Mb

64Mb

128Mb

256Mb

512Mb

1Gb

2Gb

4Gb

8Gb

16Gb

2mp

900Kb

35

71

142

284

568

1137

2275

4551

9102

18204

3mp

1.2Mb

26

53

106

213

426

853

1706

3413

6826

13652

4mp

2Mb

16

32

64

128

256

512

1024

2048

4096

8192

5mp

2.5Mb

12

25

51

102

204

409

819

1638

3276

6552

6mp

3.2Mb

10

20

40

80

160

320

640

1280

2560

5120

8mp

4Mb

8

16

32

64

128

256

512

1024

2048

4096

10mp

5.3Mb

6

12

25

51

102

204

409

819

1638

3276

12mp

5.7Mb

5

10

20

40

80

160

320

640

1280

2560

16mp

8Mb

4

8

16

32

64

128

256

512

1024

2048

20mp

10Mb

3

6

12

25

51

100

200

400

800

1600

24mp

12Mb

3

5

10

21

42

84

166

333

666

1333

36mp

20Mb

1

3

6

12

25

50

100

200

400

800

Layers & Memory Cards

Single layered cards are expensive but deliver superior energy efficiency, speed and longevity than multi-layer cards. The energy-efficiency and longevity of a card can be determined by its material and architecture of its controller software. Invest in single-layer cards only when you handle some serious volumes of images.

Longevity & Memory Cards

Memory cards have a limited life expectancy. A single layer card can allow in excess of 100,000 read-write actions while multi-layer cards can only allow around 10,000 to 15,000. Longevity shouldn’t be a concern if you happen to be the occasional user. An average memory card with reasonable capacity should do the job for you. However, if you regularly access, save and share images, you should consider the overall lifecycle.

A Quick Recap:

Have a glance at the camera’s specs to check which memory card it will support.

Check the one that best fit your budget.

Dont chase for cards that give you more space.

Create a brief synopsis of your demand to find the finest option for you

Focus on capacity and speed.

Why use faster Writing Cards?

Due to cards with varying speeds on offer, it becomes a bit cumbersome to decide which card will be more meaningful for streaming digital content. In order to ensure a smooth playback, a constant speed where the minimum rate of streaming is reasonably good, you need faster memory cards. This is easy to do when you can understand the speed symbols. A few minutes of reading these helps to quickly conclude which writing card is the best fit for your requirements.

Helping You Explore SanDisk Cards

Whether you require reliable storage for point-and-shoot or professional-level performance for DSLR, SanDisk SD cards present the ideal blend of performance, reliability and affordability. SanDisk range of memory cards ensures you find a proposition with the data speed and capacity that helps you to quickly process and share images.

SanDisk Extreme Pro: Add wings to your DSLR’s shooting potential

SanDisk Extreme Plus:Offers you up to 10 times faster speed than standard options in this segment

The gamut of capacities and capabilities that SanDisk presents to ensure there is a befitting memory card for every digital camera owner:

SD Name

Capacity

Speed Up To:

Form Factor

Class

SanDisk Extreme PRO SDHC/SDXC UHS-I Memory Card

512GB

Up to 95MB/s

SDXC

C10, U3

SanDisk Extreme PRO SDHC/SDXC UHS-I Memory Card

256GB

Up to 95MB/s

SDXC

C10, U3

SanDisk Extreme SDXC UHS-I card

256GB

Up to 80/60MB/s** read/write speed

SDXC

C10, U3

SanDisk Extreme PRO SDHC/SDXC UHS-I Memory Card

128GB

Up to 95MB/s

SDXC

C10, U3

SanDisk Extreme PLUS SDXC UHS-I card

128GB

80/60MB/s read/write speed

SDXC

10

SanDisk Extreme SDXC UHS-I card

128GB

Up to 80/60MB/s** read/write speed

SDXC

C10, U3

SanDisk Extreme PRO SDHC/SDXC UHS-II Memory Card

64GB

280MB/s

SDXC

U3

SanDisk Extreme Pro SDXC UHS-I Memory Card

64GB

95MB/s

SDXC

10

SanDisk Extreme PLUS SDXC UHS-I card

64GB

80/60MB/s read/write speed

SDXC

10

SanDisk Extreme SDXC UHS-I card

64GB

Up to 60/40MB/s** read/write speed

SDXC

C10, U3

SanDisk Extreme PRO SDHC/SDXC UHS-II Memory Card

32GB

280MB/s

SDHC

U3

SanDisk Extreme Pro SDHC UHS-I Memory Card

32GB

95MB/s

SDHC

10

SanDisk Extreme PLUS SDHC UHS-I card

32GB

80/60MB/s read/write speed

SDHC

10

SanDisk Extreme SDHC UHS-I card

32GB

Up to 60/40MB/s** read/write speed

SDHC

C10, U3

SanDisk Extreme PRO SDHC/SDXC UHS-II Memory Card

16GB

280MB/s

SDHC

U3

SanDisk Extreme Pro SDHC UHS-I Memory Card

16GB

95MB/s

SDHC

10

SanDisk Extreme PLUS SDHC UHS-I card

16GB

80/60MB/s read/write speed

SDHC

10

SanDisk Extreme SDHC UHS-I card

16GB

Up to 60/40MB/s** read/write speed

SDHC

C10, U3

SanDisk Extreme Pro SDHC UHS-I Memory Card

8GB

95MB/s

SDHC

10

SanDisk Extreme PLUS SDHC UHS-I card

8GB

80/30MB/s read/write speed

SDHC

10

SanDisk microSD cards

Designed to deliver without lags, these cards offer you more-than-expected responsiveness and exceptional media playback. Perfect for action cameras that require durable high performance, these microSD cards have many professional applications. Options include:

Extremely remarkable, these professional-grade cards will definitely take your storytelling to the next level. Detailed-oriented, the cards are equipped to handle the wide array of features associated with CF-enabled devices. Ideal for folks who insist on the best of superb burst-mode photos and high-definition videos. A packaged deal, ComapctFlash cards offer power, performance, capacity, and reliability, all rolled into one.

Capacities & Capabilities on offer:

CompactFlash Name

Capacity

Speed Up To:

SanDisk Extreme PRO CompactFlash Memory Card

256GB

Up to 160 MB/s

SanDisk Extreme PRO CompactFlash Memory Card

128GB

Up to 160 MB/s

SanDisk Extreme CompactFlash Memory Card

128GB

Up to 120 MB/s

SanDisk Extreme PRO CompactFlash Memory Card

64GB

Up to 160 MB/s

SanDisk Extreme CompactFlash Memory Card

64GB

Up to 120 MB/s

SanDisk Extreme PRO CompactFlash Memory Card

32GB

Up to 160 MB/s

SanDisk Extreme CompactFlash Memory Card

32GB

Up to 120 MB/s

SanDisk Ultra CompactFlash Memory Card

32GB

Up to 50MB/s

SanDisk Extreme PRO CompactFlash Memory Card

16GB

Up to 160 MB/s

SanDisk Extreme CompactFlash Memory Card

16GB

Up to 120 MB/s

SanDisk Ultra CompactFlash Memory Card

16GB

Up to 50MB/s

SanDisk Ultra CompactFlash Memory Card

8GB

Up to 50MB/s

SanDisk Ultra CompactFlash Memory Card

4GB

Up to 25MB/s

SanDisk Extreme microSDXC UHS-3 Cards

For extreme readiness, whether images have to be captured in desert, adventures, underwater or at mountaintops, you need a resilient POV equipped with the right memory card. Enter, the SanDisk microSDXC UHS-3—cater exclusively to the data storage requirements of an action cam. The UHS-3 cards offer speed, capacity, and durability. It is the best medium of maintaining long-lasting imaging records where preserving the in-depth details is critical.

Waterproof, temperature proof, shock proof, X-ray Proof

Offers read/write speeds up to 60MB/s/40MB/s

Delivers right speed at the first point of use

High capacity: 32GB & 64GB

Suited for retail channels

Capture the Thrill in 4K Ultra HD Detail

Look no further if you want the latest, the best and perhaps, the most future-ready memory card technology! The 4K Ultra HD resolution is vouched for by those who understand the nuances of high-performance photography, those who obsesses about outstanding clarity.

Available for DSLRs & Action Cameras

Ultra HD 4K–4x pixel resolution of 1080p

Extremely sharp, detailed and brilliant image quality

Fine color gradation over a large screen

Capacity Hog & Speed Matters IN 4K

For Pros

4K in Cinema Cameras (1DC)

1 min = 4GB

6 min = 24GB

For Consumers

4K in GoPro

1 min = ~0.4GB

6 min = ~ 2.5GB

Find Your SanDisk Memory Card on this Store

We are the leading providers of digital camera solutions, including standard accessories like memory cards. We believe that the pursuit of perfection has helped SanDisk leap beyond its competitors. We recommend SanDisk memory cards to all those who believe in uncompromised quality. We continue to expand our inventory of SanDisk memory card solutions. The hottest-selling options include:

From amateur to extreme flash memory storage requirements, SanDisk delivers with amazing perfection. The bleeding-edge performance gets irresistible with the promise of quality delivered with affordability! Here, you find 100% genuine SanDisk memory cards sold with Australian Warranty. Our range of SD memory cards is resourced from the most trusted, authorized Australian suppliers only.